Parlor base-ball game apparatus



(No Model.)

I. W. RAHMER.

PARLOR BASE BALL GAME APPARATUS.

NoQ 541,387.- o "Patented June 18, 1895.

HUME" RUN.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK \V. RAHMER, OEBROOKLYN, NE\V YORK.

PARLOR BASE-BALL GAME APPARATUS.

81=ECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 541,387, dated June 18, 1895.

Application filed October 11, 1894. Serial No. 525,548. (No model.)

To all whom it 11mg concern:

Be it k nown that I, FREDERICK W. RAHMER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Brooklyn,in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Parlor Base-Ball Game Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

The invention consists of a novel miniature base ball field, on a tablet, board or any equivalentdevice,havingafrictional surfaceadapted to hold where it lodges, an object as a quoit projected from a distance so as to fall upon it, and quoits of comparatively soft elastic and frictional material in combination therewith to be used as substitutes for the ball in a parlor game as hereinafter fully described, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a diagram of the miniature ballground laid out on the tablet or board, with a couple of quoits as lodged thereon from the hands of the throwers, the surface sheet of the tablet being turned up at one corner to illustrate the same. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of a quoit on an enlarged scale.

The tablet, board or plate as a, may be of any approved size or form, substance or material, but is preferably of rectangular form and is preferably provided with a surface cover or coating b, of any approved frictional material, as rubber, paper or woven fabric having a soft elastic and comparatively rough frictional surface on which the quoits will rest when they fall without slipping beyond. The quoits as c, are preferably composed of several layers of canvas or other woven fabric united in an elastic disk of suitable thickness by rubber or other cement, said disk having a comparatively large hole through the center and the sides being conspicuously distinguished from each other as by diiferent colors as dark and light, one of which say the dark side, as the quoit marked 1 being the right side, and the other as the quoit marked 2, the wrong side, and counts as a foul out when the quoit falls light side up.

In the lay-out of the field, the lines d-e, represent the ordinary base lines. f represents the foul lines which in the diagram of my game terminate with the margins of the tablet. The catchers and batters places are inclosed in the parallelogramf', in which are included the squares g, marked Base on balls. The pitchers place is inclosed by the square h, marked Pitcher. The first base, second base, short stop and third base are included in the squares '11, and are so marked respectively. Beyond the first and thirdbases along the foul lines but inside of them are the small squaresj, respectively, said squares being marked ,2. B. hit. The right, left and center fields are included in squares k--Zm respectively, and are correspondingly marked, and they are crossed by diagonal lines 00. Along the upper margin of the tablet are the corner squares n0 marked Home run and intermediate squares p-q, marked 3. B. hit.

The catchers and batters parallelogram has the four corner squares marked E, and all the squares except the upper marginal squares and the squares along the foul lines have a corner square also marked E. The spaces as stu, and o, between the squares may be called paths.

The National League rules should govern the play. It may be played by from one to eighteen players-two nines. If sides are chosen an umpire is necessary in case of close questions to be decided.

The quoit pitcher rep resents the batter and stands at a predetermined distance from the table, say about ten feet. If the quoit falls more than half on any of the paths running between the squares marked. C-a'tcher, Pitcher, First base, Second base, Third base, Short stop, Left field, Center field and Right field, it counts as a safe hit, or single base hit. To make a two base hit, three base hit or home run the quoit must completelycover one of the squares marked two base hit, three base hit or home run.

By completely covering the small squares E except in the catchers parallelogram, the player reaches first base on error, if score is kept, the error being charged to the player on whose position the quoit falls. Thus if the quoit completely covers the small square E in the second base square, the error is charged to the second baseman of the opposite side, 850. If the player completely covers a small square in the catchers parallelogram marked Baseon balls the player so reaches his base.

If a man is on a base and none, orone out, and the next players quoit falls in either of the three outfield squares, but more than half over the diagonal line farthest from the home plate, the men on base each advance one base. This counts as a sacrifice hit for'the thrower. If a quoit falls on foul ground the player has another throw. If he repeats this three times in succession he is out on strike See bunt rule in National League Rules.

Runs can be scored as in a regular game, thus: four single base hits before three men are out, four bases on balls, for errors, home run, the.

If the quoit falls on a margin of the tablet it must be more than half on the tablet to count. The points against the player-are: 1f the quoit falls more than half 0E the tablet, the thrower is out on strikes; if it falls three times in succession on foul ground the player is also out on strikes; if the quoit falls more than half inside the squares marked Out to catcher, Out to pitcher, Out first base, Out second base, Out third base, Out short stop, Out left field, Out center field or Out right field, the player is out, and the put out is credited to the player covering the square on which the quoit falls.

I claim 1. In a parlor base ball game apparatus, the combination with a tablet havinga miniature base ball field diagram, of quoits of flexible and frictional character, and having the upper and lower sides conspicuouslydistinguished as by different colors substantially as described.

2. In a parlor base ball game apparatus, the combination of qnoits of flexible and frictional character, with a tablet having a miniature base ball field diagram comprising the base lines, foul lines, batters and catchers square, first base, second base, short stop and third base squares; right field, center field and left field squares, and the squares'marked E in said parallelogram and squares substantially as described.

Signed at New York city, in the county and State of New York, this 1st day of September, A. D. 189;.

FREDK. W. RAHMER.

\Vitnesses:

W. J. MORGAN, S. H. MORGAN. 

